Sleep Do Dogs Dream? They Sure Do. So Do Whales, Birds And Rabbits. And Did You Know That Trees Sleep To Get Relief From The Sun? These Facts Surely Won`t Put You To . . .

March 10, 1986|Goulart is the author of several books on health and nutrition.

Are you getting your fair share of the Zzz factor? If not, you`re in good but grumpy company. One of every 75 adults in the United States has a problem getting to sleep or staying asleep, and more than 50 million have full-blown sleep disorders, according to the Better Sleep Council.

As a famous Yiddish proverb has it, ``No punishment is worse than a night without sleep.`` So what beats counting sheep when you can`t get to the Land of Nod? Sleep trivia. Here are 48 facts to sleep on.

1. Louis IV of France had 413 beds, and every night he slept in a different one.

2. Trees sleep to get relief from sunlight.

3. The world`s record for going without sleep -- 276 hours -- was set in 1964.

4. Thirty-two percent of all women sleep in underwear or T-shirts, 31 percent in their birthday suits, 17 percent in nightgowns, 15 percent in negligees and 5 percent in pajamas.

5. Taresthesia is the word for what happens when your foot goes to sleep.

6. Talking in your sleep is called somniloquy. Kids do it more than adults.

7. Zebras in a herd never all sleep at the same time. One always stands guard.

8. Sleeping pills account for one-third of all drug-related deaths.

9. One of six sleepers is capable of waking spontaneously at a given hour.

10. Two of every five dreams can be described as frightening or terrifying.

11. Forty-seven percent of all men sleep in their birthday suits. Only 17 percent snooze in pajamas.

12. There are three basic types of insomnia: the inability to fall asleep within 30 to 45 minutes; getting less than five or six hours of total sleep time; and spending more than 30 to 60 minutes awake during the night.

13. A rabbit`s ears go limp when it dreams.

14. The fear of going to sleep is called hypnophobia.

15. Men recall fewer full-color dreams than women do.

16. It takes an average of 20 minutes to fall asleep. A few of us do it in less than seven minutes.

17. Dreams in which the sex act is performed are uncommon. Only 3 percent of sleepers polled have them.

18. Twenty percent of sleep time is spent dreaming.

19. Franz Kafka talks about his favorite go-to-sleep position in his diary: ``To make myself as heavy as possible, which I consider good for falling asleep, I had crossed my arms and laid my hands on my shoulders, so I lay there like a soldier with his pack.``

20. Ten percent of all sleepers snore or sleep with someone who does. Teen-agers snore the least, men over 50 the most. Men outnumber women snorers 12 to 1.

21. Whales dream. So do birds and dogs.

22. Smokers dream less than non-smokers.

23. One of every three Americans over the age of 15 suffers occasional insomnia.

25. According to Dr. Samuel Dunkell, author of Sleep Positions, there are four basic sleep postures. Here they are, along with the estimated number of sleepers who use them: semifetal (side position) -- 60 percent; prone (face down, arms and legs apart) -- 25 percent; full fetal (knees to chest) -- 7.5 percent; and royal (on back) -- 7.5 percent.

26. The best teas for inducing sleep, says American herbalist Jethro Kloss, are those made with chamomile, valerian, catnip, skullcap and hops. They also aid digestion and soothe the nerves.

27. Out of tea? Hot lemonade, orangeade or cold grapefruit juice, with or without honey, are just as good. The carbohydrates in these drinks help lull you to sleep, say Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers Dr. Richard J. Wurtman and John D. Ferstrom.

28. Early American settlers used bergamot tea, pennyroyal and lemon balm as slumber tumblers. These are said to extinguish the spasms and tensions that prevent sleep, while providing a remedy for post-insomnia sluggishness.

29. The traditional German sleep cup is ground anise and honey in warm milk. In England, cowslips have been brewed for centuries because of their soporific effect. American Indians anointed the forehead with nutmeg oil. (A little grated nutmeg with lemon and boiling water also can be used as a nightcap.)

30. How do you get a sound seven- to eight-hour snooze? Going to sleep when your body temperature is lowest works every time, according to scientists at the Sleep Research Center at Stanford University, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Laboratory of Human Chronophysiology at Montefiore Hospital in New York.

31. Most sleepwalkers are children and teen-agers, according to the Better Sleep Council.

32. The three most common non-life-threatening ``sleep disorders`` in America are snoring, sleepwalking and nocturnal myoclonus (involuntary twitching of muscles).

33. The proper position is crucial to a good night`s sleep. Lying on your back or curling up in a ball are the least sleep-inducing. What`s tops? The semifetal position, according to expert Dunkell.

34. W.C. Fields once observed that the best way to get a good night`s sleep is to go to bed. From Sleep Secrets of the Stars we also learn how the following celebrities combat insomnia.